Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 13, 2026
Detecting Behavioral Deficits in Rats After Traumatic Brain Injury
Published on: January 30, 2018
Specificity of postconcussion symptoms at 3 months after mild traumatic brain injury: results from a comparative
Magali Laborey1, Françoise Masson, Régis Ribéreau-Gayon
1Univ. Bordeaux, ISPED, Centre INSERM U897-Epidémiologie-Biostatistique, F-33000 Bordeaux, France (Ms Laborey and Drs Salmi and Lagarde); INSERM, ISPED, Centre INSERM U897-Epidémiologie-Biostatistique (Ms Laborey and Drs Masson, Ribéreau-Gayon, Zongo, Salmi, and Lagarde); CHU de Bordeaux, Pole de santé publique, Service d'information médicale, (Dr Salmi); Service d'Anesthésie-Réanimation, Hôpital Pellegrin, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Bordeaux (Dr Masson); and Service de médicine générale et post-urgences, Hôpital Pellegrin, Centre hospitalier Universitaire de Bordeaux, F-33000, Bordeaux, France (Dr Ribéreau-Gayon).
Objective:
To assess the specificity of symptoms included in various symptom lists used to identify postconcussion syndrome (PCS), by using follow-up data comparing patients with mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) and control patients during the month prior to injury and 3 months later.
Setting:
The adult emergency department of a teaching hospital in Bordeaux, France.
Participants:
A cohort of patients with MTBI (n = 536) and a comparison group with nonhead injuries (n = 946).
Main Measures:
Postconcussion symptoms listed in the Rivermead Postconcussion Symptoms Questionnaire (RPQ), the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV), and the 10th International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10).
Results:
Analyses were performed comparing symptom occurrence in patients with MTBI and controls, before and 3 months after injury. Eight symptoms were identified as being specific to MTBI: headache, dizziness, intolerance of stress, forgetfulness, poor concentration, taking longer to think, blurred vision, and personality change.
Conclusion:
The relevance of symptoms proposed to constitute PCS should be reviewed. A more specific definition of PCS would make diagnosis easier and facilitate prevention as well as treatment of patients with MTBI.
